Telegram users can now send each other USDT
The USDT will only be available on the TRC20 blockchain for now
In an announcement, Telegram declared,
"You can now buy, swap, and make P2P trades with Tether USDT (TRC20). You can also directly send USDT to your friends with no transaction fees."
This new collaboration now adds Telegram to the list of social networks that have integrated crypto with their platforms. Meta, for example, partnered with Novi wallet to enable crypto payments for only U.S. Whatsapp users, and Twitter partnered with the financial firm, Stripe to avail USDC and other crypto use.
However, this isn't the company's first rodeo with crypto.
In 2018, Telegram began a blockchain project called "The Open Network" or "Telegram Open Network" (TON) with its native crypto token, "Gram."
The whitepaper showed that the blockchain was intended to encourage the total adoption of crypto on a global scale. Also, to provide a network for dApps and a decentralized payment platform alternative due to its ability to scale transactions speedily.
Funding for the project occurred through a private Gram offering. The TON initial coin offering (ICO) was successful, raising about $1.7 billion.
Meanwhile, the SEC reached out to the telecommunications giant due to concerns about the ICO, but the matter wasn't settled effectively. Shortly before the planned TON launch, SEC reached out again, bearing bad news.
They got a temporary restrictive order to halt the distribution of the token, Gram, on the basis that it was an unregistered security.
A lengthy legal battle ensued, and the company lost as the U.S. district court for New York ruled in favor of the SEC. Afterward, the TON team dropped the project, and the company discontinued their partnership. It went on to repay its investors and also paid a penalty fee to the SEC.
The TON foundation somehow sustained the TON project to the point that users can trade TON on Telegram. The app enables users to buy and send BTC; only it can't be cashed out. Rather, it can be exchanged for TON, the token of the TON blockchain.
A couple of years after and now, the company is back with another crypto project.
Telegram recently informed their users they could send each other USDT, Tether's stablecoin. For now, however, the wallet function would only support via the Tron (TRC20) blockchain.
For many, this news doesn't come as a surprise, as Telegram had previous experience in crypto. In addition, USDT has been on a high as of late. The third largest crypto behind BTC and ETH with a $78 billion market cap, the stablecoin status of Tether makes it an alluring choice.
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